Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. The package, including the 1996 policy, has been sent to Mr. Clerk. We got an acknowledgement. I see in an email that it's been received. It was sent to you today in the last hour and a half.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  First of all, I want to be clear about the initiative that Chief Morrison has led and that has caught on beyond his territory. That's the idea of these BCRs that combine assertions of inherent jurisdiction in the context of the pandemic but incorporate provincial laws around trespass and the emergency management laws that the Ontario provincial government ordered.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's true, and I should draw something to your attention, because it just came out in February of this year. To be honest, I think it speaks to what Chief Morrison said. It's a quote from a judgment involving Iskatewizaagegan, so Shoal Lake No. 39 versus Winnipeg. Winnipeg's sole source of drinking water is my client Shoal Lake, since 1913, 100 million gallons a day.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The funding agreements operate under this umbrella of the FNPP, keeping in mind it's a program that was initiated pursuant to that policy in the 1990s that I referred to. In order to administer that policy, each first nation either does it in the so-called stand-alones—they're pure indigenous police services, and in Ontario there are nine—or through a shared arrangement.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's fantastic.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, but here's the “but”. It specifically mentions legislated services at the same level of equity as the rest of the country. If you take that requirement for equity and transpose it to 2021, presto: The very issues you identify could be done. I'm not saying it's the answer; I'm saying telling the truth is to tell police leadership....

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Our materials include the policy. We are sending you, Mr. Chair, a full package. Attached to the letter to Minister Blair is the policy and the terms and conditions. We've attached a full package for the committee's consideration and all at Chief Morrison's instruction. I want to say he's quite a chief of police.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's right. Yes, they have.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the very insightful question. I would say that all of those recommendations are essential. We need to respect and recognize the reality of women and girls and indigenous victims honestly, in general, and that their being treated as less than worthy victims is part of the reality of colonialism and racism.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I found it buried in the 2014 Auditor General's report. It was very interesting. Here's the quote from the Auditor General's report in 2014. For the record, this is chapter 5, section 5.28 of the report: According to Public Safety Canada, the principles of the 1996 First Nations Policing Policy are outdated and impractical, and the First Nations Policing Program has evolved since these principles were endorsed.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll take 30 seconds to complete.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I want to move on to a last point. You will repeatedly hear in the context of submissions made around indigenous policing how limiting the first nations policing program is, what they refer to as FNPP. I want to make an observation as a lawyer that acts for NAPS, for Treaty 3, for the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Chief. I have the honour of not only speaking to you from the headquarters of Nishnawbe Aski Police Service in Thunder Bay, but I acknowledge that I do so in the traditional territory of Fort William First Nation, a treaty partner of the Robinson-Huron Treaty. As well, I simply acknowledge how fortunate and honoured we are, as a law firm, to act for the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The system didn't work.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Okay, so I'll go quickly, then.